3 takeaways from Aston Villa’s 1-0 win at Manchester United
Aston Villa secured a historic 1-0 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
A staunch defensive effort made way for an 88th-minute winner from Kortney Hause that fired Villa to their first win at the Theatre of Dreams since December of 2009.
Minutes after his goal, Hause conceded a penalty that Bruno Fernandes promptly blasted over the crossbar. The final few minutes were a fitting end to an overall wild match of football.
Villa had strong performances throughout the line-up, but here are our three biggest takeaways from the contest.
A defensive masterclass from Aston Villa
Here is a list of some true things:
- Manchester United are the Premier League’s top scorers
- Manchester United have Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood, and Edinson Cavani in their squad
- Ronaldo scored nine times (second-most against any team in the league) and won 13 times in 14 previous matches against Villa
- Manchester United could not solve an Aston Villa back three of Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa, and Kortney Hause
It wasn’t always pretty, and Emi Martinez did bail Villa out a handful of times, but the trio of Mings, Konsa, and Hause rendered Ronaldo virtually invisible on Saturday.
Greenwood was lively and dangerous, popping up on both the left and right sides, but he had only one prime goal-scoring opportunity in the match.
The truth is, the Villa back three looked in control the entire afternoon. That’s not to take away from the excellent performances the seven players in front of them put forth, but when the three were called upon, they dealt with danger calmly and efficiently.
Deep midfield coverage was superb from Douglas Luiz as well, freeing up John McGinn and Jacob Ramsey to press on and create chaos further up the pitch.
Matty Cash, too, was a menace, specifically in the first half when he caused fits on the right side for Pogba and Luke Shaw, the latter of which withdrew before the break due to injury.
Aston Villa’s best formation is the 3-5-2
Dean Smith used a 3-5-2 formation for a third-straight Premier League match on Saturday, and it’s clear now that it’s the best formation for his side.
The first half against United was eerily similar to the opening frame of the Chelsea match on September 11, except Villa managed to enter the break level this time around.
What we saw from Villa at Old Trafford was consistent with the performances against Chelsea and Everton: good high pressure, duel proficiency in midfield, and a backline seemingly fit to handle anything thrown at it.
Rarely have Villa been outnumbered in any particular area on the pitch. The midfield bossed opposition for the third-straight match, and in attack, the wing backs and midfield have done well supporting the two forwards.
That said, Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings have struggled for goals of late and need to start producing for Villa to continue their climb up the table. Additionally, Smith is tasked with finding the best way to integrate natural wingers Leon Bailey, Bertrand Traore, and Anwar El Ghazi into a more defensive system.
Aston Villa can compete with the best teams in the world
There were, rightfully, a lot of questions about how Aston Villa would improve this season with talisman Jack Grealish gone. Money was spent on reinforcements, but losing your best player is always going to present unique challenges.
After a rocky start, it’s clear now that Villa are a more fluid and balanced team without Grealish. The team presses better, is more varied in attack, and is much more unpredictable.
Players like McGinn, Mings, Watkins, Cash, and Luiz have emerged from behind Grealish’s long-casting shadow and proved their quality. It was clear at Chelsea and at home to Everton that Smith was building on a new cohesion in the Villa camp, and that progress was even more evident at United on Saturday.
Smith’s Villa went to Old Trafford–a place the club has not won in 12 years–and took three points off a Manchester United squad featuring Ronaldo, Pogba, and Fernandes. An important result not only for supporters but a squad in the process of finding its identity.
Everyone around the club–supporters included–feel now that this club can achieve anything and defeat anyone. Europe didn’t feel so far out of reach on Saturday, did it?